by Isi Esene

There was drama in a Kaduna Sharia Court yesterday when Malam Mohammed Abdullahi dragged his mother-in-law, Habiba Mohammed, to court for not allowing his wife return to him after the delivery of their baby.

Abdullahi’s wife, Sa’ade , was said to have travelled to Kaduna to receive motherly care after delivering her first child but has since not returned to Lokoja, Kogi State, where her husband resides.

He said, “A week after the naming ceremony, we lost the child, so I allowed her to stay for sometime. I also gave them N50,000 for the arrangement to return her to Lokoja.”

The apparently disappointed husband said he was told that Sa’ade’s mother had spent the money he sent so he sent more so as to ensure his wife’s return but the situation remained unchanged.

In her submission in court, Sa’ade Abdullahi claimed she refused to return to her husband because he has failed in his duties to teach her Islamic practices and the strict observance her daily prayers.

Sa’ade’s mother denied influencing her daughter’s decision saying, “I am not the one who gave Sa’ade’s hand in marriage to Adullahi, it was her father’s relations. I left her late father since she was young.”

Malam Ibrahim Inuwa, the presiding judge, directed Abdullahi to enroll Sa’ade in an Islamic school and also ordered her mother to make proper arrangements for her return to Abdullahi on or before September 2.

The case was adjourned till September 4, 2012 in order to observe the extent of compliance with the judge’s ruling.